Today marks our 5th wedding anniversary! Has it been 5 years? It doesn’t even seem like it has been 5 years. It feels like it was just yesterday that I moved to Italy. Or even got married. Which is a good thing. It is, as they say, time flies when you are having fun and it crawls when you are not. I guess the adage is true.
Congratulations to us, darling!! Here is to many, many more to come!! Loads of love, hugs and kisses!!
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We have just celebrated our anniversary a day before with a dinner with the family. We didn’t tell them it was our anniversary dinner. We wanted to do it today (Sunday) but we have decided to leave early for Rome so that we don’t have to wake up at 4am on Monday morning just to be in Rome in time for the 10am appointment we have with our clients. Then after that meeting, we are making our way to Naples for another meeting the day after. I think it is a good idea that we take it slow and not kill ourselves driving the entire day for the next 3 days.
After Naples we are going to Puglia for another meeting and to collect some vespas we bought. Then the entire journey back. We will be making a stop as it is 2200kms from Genoa to Puglia. We just have not decided where we would like to rest for the night yet. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @mouseytong to find out where we decide to stay.
I enjoyed our dinner as it was with family. 🙂 I wish my family was here with me too, but they are never to far away!
This is how I feel like. All those wires criss-crossing at a junction. I receive notifications on my Blackberry from time to time on various sites that I am signed up to. Just today I decide to check up on another site that I have not visited for some time and realised that I am so wired. Imagine this, just a mere 6 years ago, the only time I am ever on the computer was to type up my homework (while in Uni) and to do research online. I was hardly ever online. Fast forward a few years, I started a blog on Multiply, joined a needlecraft group on Yahoo, NEEDLESnCRAFT, where I got back my love for crochet, signed up for ebay and amazon. Then I started blog surfing. Before you know it, I follow quite a long list of blogs that I can’t even finish reading in a day! Also because I get carried away. Then I added, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, ChurpChurp, Linkedin and the list goes on…..oh! and the latest, Instagram! I am so wired it isn’t even funny!
So many! I can’t even keep track of it all anymore! Well, I can. I just need to dedicate more time to or be more vigilant with my time. Try not to wander off so much. Evidence of this “wandering” is right here. Just for this post, it took me close to 3 hours and I am only here. I have googled at least 8 actors and some movies as they are playing on tv. 😛 From there, I got carried away by the movies they were in. Some looked interesting enough for me to click on it and then the adventure starts again.
Anyway, in this age and time is anyone to wired anymore? I have a love-hate relationship with technology. More love than hate, especially since I have started to live so far from my family. I wasn’t to wired before, so some technology was too much for me. But since moving here, I have embrace it more. I like the fact that we can have face to face chats now with relative ease and not fuzzy bad connections. I like that I can search and watch movies, series and more on live streaming especially when I get tired of dubbed stuff. I still feel funny watching in Italian in the cinema here and when I see it playing on cable back in Malaysia in English, I just stare and stare at the pictures and it feels so strange. Of course I watch other dubbed movies or series but they don’t sound strange because I can’t understand the original anyway! It is like watching a Cantonese movie dubbed in English and Italian! It is happening right here, right now! I was channel surfing when I saw Drunken Master 2. I thought, “Oooo..Jackie Chan’s movie. Should be nice!” They sometimes do show the movie in the original language (there is an option to change) and I thought this would be the same. I have watched a Mandarin movie in the original language before.
But no! The original language option is in English. Though Jackie Chan’s voice over was done by him the rest just sounded so strange. So, so strange. @_@ It is even stranger because I have seen the original a number of times and all of Jackie’s movies has all these funny puns and lines. They are all lost in translation. 😦 I had to change the channel!
I am getting off tangent again. I should sign off soon before I get distracted again and it will take me another few hours just to finish this post. I already down 5 hours. Shit! Yeah, you can pretty much guess it that I got in at least 2 movies and a chapter or 2 of a crime series.
The conclusion, being so wired is both good and not so good. Is that even a conclusion? Anyone else feels like this sometimes?
Not sure if you, the readers, realised that I have been diligently posting a post EVERY single day. 🙂 Just a little upset on the fact that I will be breaking my “a post a day” today. It is still the 18th here, but on my laptop is already the 19th, 4.21am. I thought it over, but I don’t quite like to type a post on my phone. That would really drive me crazy. So, I am losing out on a technicality. Yes, I could just change the time on my laptop but I keep it on Malaysian time for me to keep track of it when I call my family with skype. I do the same with my mobile when in Malaysia. I leave my Italian mobile on Italian time to keep track without having to subtract or add each time I want to make a call. Lest, I wake anyone up and scare the bejesus out of them.
It scares me silly when my phone rings in the middle of the night. Only in emergencies will my mobile ring at night. It happens occasionally that clients don’t realise or remember the time difference and really frightened me. I would wake up shocked, stare at the phone, compose myself when I realise that it is not from home or any other family member and answer. This is the unwritten rule at home. I think it is the same for everyone. If I can, I never turn off my mobile at night. My dad used to ask me why. At that time, I was staying away from home, at college and sharing an apartment with friends. There was no home phone line. Everyone had their own mobile and I was contactable ONLY via my mobile. That was why I kept it on.
One night, I heard my phone’s battery dying. Since I was already in bed, I decided to let it die off. Remembering my dad’s words. It was the old Motorola where we had to change the batteries while the other charges on the charging pods. The next morning, I changed the batteries and the first message I heard over the phone was, “Ann, dad here. I have some chest pains and I am driving to the hospital now.” I was shocked! Next message was, “Ann, your dad is in the hospital. He had some chest pains. Go and see him.” Imagine how I felt that morning. I rushed to class, handed in my assignments and asked a friend to drive me to the hospital. From that day on, when I can help it and I don’t have to ie. in flight, I never turn my phone off. Though my sis says that there is no point having a mobile if I never carry it with me. 😛 She says, the phone and I are almost always miles apart.
In my defense, when I am home or in the office, the mobile is either on the table or the couch and I don’t carry it with me everywhere, like going to the toilet or to the kitchen to get a drink. Cause it is still near me just not attached to me. M says the same. hehehehe! but M does have the worst timing in the world. He calls when I am in the shower, in the toilet doing some business and the only moment I walk away from my mobile. Always! I could be next to it for 23 hrs and 59 mins but that 1 min I walk away he will call. Worst timing ever! >_<
Anyway, I don’t want to change the time just for this post. I shall have to bear with it. *sniff*
Just a photo to end this post. Totally unrelated, of course.
A French Shepard. First time for me seeing one. They are so beautiful!
A National television also known as “Sputnik”. Pretty sure our parents know this. They might have even owned one on a upon a time. This is what I love about dealing in vintage stuff. 🙂
So, here we are at the Imola race track for a weekend of “Historical auto and moto” market to not only sell our vintage vespas but to also score some spare parts for our restorations. M just got back yesterday from Berlin where his luggage the one he bought for me (the divine Milo repeated design mid sized luggage, which you can see on my Instagram and Twitter, which by the way you should be following to get amazing updates on my utterly boring existence via @mouseytong 🙂 ) did not make it. We went back around midnight to collect them and I was flabbergasted! It was sooooo cute!
Immediately, M suggested I use it for this trip. Naturally I said yes! Got home, packed my bags and went to be at 1.30am. Guess what time we woke up? 4 freaking 30 am. Nevermind. I rolled around a little as per normal. Got up, got ready, made a coffee in my thermos mug and rolled out of the house. By 5.30 am we were on the road.
Now, to my forgotten luggage. How did it happen? Well, when we got to the office, M was supposed to transfer my bag and all the other stuff to the van while I go into the office and grab all the rest of the stuff. Guess what he forgot? My luggage! How did he leave Milo behind? How could he? Actually he did once. To the real Milo. Too busy on the phone and he left Milo at the ground floor lift door while he came all the way up to the apartment! Hehehehe! I never let him forget it. Makes us laugh out loud each time. 😀 To his credit, it happened only once when we first got Milo.
Blissfully unaware, we left for Imola. At the first stop to fuel up, he gave me his sweater cause it was really cold whie, stopping me from fishing for my luggage for mine. If he did let me, we would have found out then and there that my luggage wasn’t on board. Fast forward 6 hours later, it was getting warm, so I wanted to change out of my shoes in slippers. I went hunting for my luggage. We only had 2 vans. The bigger one we have emptied out completely. The smaller one now only holds the valuables and our bags. I looked through the window and couldn’t see my unmistakable pop print Milo bag! Where was it?
I asked M and he said that it was in the other van. No way, I said. We just emptied it out. He came to look and lo and behold, it dawned on him that he didn’t transfer it. Oh no! Now what am I going to do for the next 2 days? He felt bad. I was ok. Not too upset about it. He did try to make up for it the restbof the day. Which is a good thing. 😉
After the market closed at 6.30pm we stopped at a local pharmacy to get some essentials. I only got make-up removal wipes which in actual fact they didn’t have, so I took baby wipes instead and a toothbrush. M t-shirt for bed and another one of his shirts for tomorrow. Not my style obviously, but it will have to do for now. 😛 I might just be cheeky enough to let you guys see me in a polo shirt! Not something you can usually find me in. I have max 2 polo shirts and that might also be pushing it. Lets see how I feel tomorrow morning. Or rather later today.
Goose night, people! Sweet dreams!
P.s : Though it drove me nuts to write this on an Ipad, I perservered for you my kind readers (wah…so magnanimous of me) and the keypad keeps crashing/hanging driving me more over the edge but I made it! Phew!
Just so you don’t forget, i really dislike Ipads. I have no clear idea why. I just don’t.
THIS is what I want to do now. I dragged myself to the gym today and sweated it out for more than an hour tucking a cool 8.2km under my belt. I am not only feeling damn good but also darn proud with myself. Considering I had to drag myself in the first place. *beaming*
But as I was surfing the net, blogs and my photos and posting a photo in “Life in Photos” series I realised I have been very hardworking! I have been posting a post everyday from the moment I broke my “no blogging” streak. To keep up with this (as long as I can :P) I am going to schedule this post for tomorrow. It is September 12th already. That would prolong my streak by another day! 🙂
I just had to write this down a put it out in the world to mark this day. When you read this it is the 13th. Another day, another post. Hopefully another fat busting run in the gym. Oh, wait! I booked a TRX class. Got to work them muscles for a lean, trim, mean machine!
Goose night people!! Good morning to the other side of the world!!
Hello! Since September started, I have been occupied. Friends came over for a visit for a week. They have just left yesterday for London. I had a great time with them! 🙂
On a different note, I have been helping my nephew with his crossword puzzles in Italian, (super amazing,right? especially when my Italian sucks, big time!) and I got intrigued to get myself a crossword puzzle book too. Only problem was, I live in Italy, and ALL the crossword puzzle books on the stands are in Italian. So, I almost gave up on the idea on finding any English crossword puzzles until I get home to Malaysia or if I went to London by any chance.
But, I got lucky when I took the boys to Cannes for a visit. Cannes being the “international” environment that it is had shops which stock more English items. While we were strolling in the back lanes to avoid the hot sun, we stumbled upon an English bookshop! If I am not mistaken, that is even the name of the shop! No need to be all artsy-fartsy to find a name. The name said it all. After all, she might be the ONLY one in Cannes that is fully English. The owner is English too.
Then, I got luckier. 🙂 I found the ONLY crossword puzzle book she had left AND it is a British production. Hmm…is this the right word to use? I have been mulling it over for 10 mins, looking for the word. I guess this will have to do. Production it is then. It had to be British because I have done some word puzzle games on my phone and it was agonizing. I don’t know some of the words or slangs because they were in American English.
All this luck ended, when I tried to do the crosswords. >_< Why? I felt lost from the very first word across!! I think this book is like for professional crossword puzzlers. I am an amateur at this. I am used to doing the “pop” version of crossword puzzles. You know the ones that you find at the back of magazines and newspapers? Those, I am able to at least get some blank boxes filled. 🙂 I am so bad at this crossword thingy.
I just thought to share my own sad shortcomings. My super awesome brain is working on low now… hahahahaha!!! I am tired. I should be in bed but I was hungry. Just so I don’t go to bed immediately after eating, I am writing this. How hardworking is that?
They say, the first step is always the hardest and I broke that no blogging thing today after almost 9 days of no blogging. Proud of myself! *beams*
This is how I would like to see the world. But reality sucks!
Why do we put our experiences and our view of the world on others? After a chat with some friends the other day, I realised I become very snappy when people pass judgement on how others live their lives. Once upon a time, (trust me, my friends can attest to that) I was also like them but I have learnt to not judge a book by its cover. I am not perfect, of course but I constantly remind myself that I cannot judge anyone until I have walked a mile in their shoes.
In my life I have experienced my share of racism and judgmental remarks on being Chinese, Asian, hungry third world immigrant and so much more, I have had people spit in my way and telling me as a chink to go back to my country. Mind you, I was there only for transit while I was still with the airlines. I have had vendors crudely remark that these Chinese tourist are only just here to touch and destroy everything and not buying. This is at a fruits and vegetable market. Another where a mad man, I call him mad as I was on the phone to my friend trying to locate her apartment building, when he comes up to me after exiting a coffee bar shouting insults telling me to F*#k off back to my country! And so much more…
I have had good ones too! Or rather, I would like to take them as that. One being too colourful! I LOVE ❤ ❤ colours! They brighten me and everything around me! I have even been told that I am too chirpy! Just don’t catch me in the morning! 😛 Not much of a morning person. A teacher once told me that “You cannot always do what like, but you can always like what you do”. I think she is right. I don’t have to love it but by not hating it, and learning to go with the flow whenever I am put in that position makes everything easier. I can even make it fun and before you know it, it is over. That way, I will always have good memories and no regrets. No “should haves”, “could haves”, “what ifs” and the likes.
With my experience, I have learnt not to do the same to others. Everyone has their own story and more often than not a very interesting one too! Once M told me he likes the way I see the world. This was once after we saw a couple who was dressed all in Goth with shocking pink hair which I found interesting and he said “what were they thinking!”. I said, why not? That is how they want to present themselves and they are confident in themselves. Not many people have the courage to pull that off and I like that. They are not infringing on others so why should we judge them only because we won’t do it ourselves? I am not adverse to pink as a hair colour just that it doesn’t suit me. I have had bright red hair before. Higlighted red and gold hair too! 🙂 He told me that, that is what he likes about me. I always see a everything from a different point of view. *score!* 🙂 🙂
As time passes, as I get older, I like the person I have become and am going to be. Being a Virgo, I am analytical, critical by nature but I am going to put on my rose tinted glasses to make life more interesting and enjoy it for all its beauty and surprises!
Okay, I have used up ALL of my computer battery just browsing the net and procrastinating on a post. So much so, it took me a whole 2 mins to remember what it was that I wanted to blog about. I still don’t remember exactly. I have a moleskin notebook just for this reason and yet I don’t use it. I carry that moleskin for the added fun of carrying around added weight. Whee!! 😛
Anyhow, I wanted to update everyone on my last frustrating post regarding Nike+Ipod. In the end, I finally figured out why it did not do what I wanted it to do. This, is after a sleepless night (not from thinking about this) of tossing and turning in bed from the extreme heatwave hitting us here in Italy. I suddenly thought about checking the settings on the app. Right at the bottom, there is a “send to Nike+” button. After clicking on that, it sent! I didn’t realise I had to do that each time I want the details sent. It used to do that automatically. Something has changed.
Then, I was wondering why my runs didn’t show up on the history part of the app. I am thinking it is because the history part only holds the runs that I did with my Nike sensor. Since all the rest that I did with the treadmill in the gym is all recorded but not shown. The last run shown on it was the one that I braved the summer heat here (not repeating this performance!) with the sensor tucked into my shoe.
So, here it is my revelation! and the update on my debacle with the Nike+Ipod app on my Ipod. 🙂
Now I can rest in peace. 😛
Shop is closing for the night. It is almost 1 am here. Goose night people!!
mouseytong 